Page 139 of Veil of Lies

Chapter 105

Stella

The dress I wore had a designer label but it was frumpy and the color didn’t suit my skin tone at all. It also clashed with the vivid bruises blooming around my neck. Not that I cared.

Why Mateo wanted me sitting here while he waited for Lily to arrive was a mystery. Brax’s grandmother wasn’t my biggest fan, but I held out hope she might take pity on me and persuade Mateo to let me go.

I was willing to leave here on foot if necessary. If I could get to the nearest town, there would be someone who could help me, surely.

Mateo ignored me while he tapped away on his phone. I wondered if he’d notice if I asked to use the bathroom and then slipped away. Then I looked up and saw Carlos waiting by the door, a gun holster strapped across his shoulder and a grim expression on his face.

The chances of me ‘slipping away’ were somewhere between zero and zilch. I had a feeling this whole place was swarming with armed goons.

I just wished I knew who Mateo was. So far, all he’d told me was he had been involved in my father’s investment business, using it to launder money, but beyond that, I wasn’t sure. He’d mentioned his associates, but not who or what they were.

Everything I’d learned suggested Mateo was involved with organized crime. I pictured some kind of Ozarks plot, whereby my poor innocent Dad was caught up in something he didn’t understand.

Dad wasn’t a criminal. He liked fishing and watching romantic movies, collecting art and cars. There was no way he had knowingly got involved with a criminal like Mateo. It had to be some kind of mistake.

“Ah, Lily, so glad you could join us.” Mateo jumped up as Lily swept into the room in a cloud of expensive perfume, diamonds twinkling around her neck.

“Darling, lovely to see you as always.” They embraced and I fought the urge to vomit. Why was she even here? She flicked her eyes over me with a derisive grimace and then sat down next to Mateo.

“I trust you are well, Estella,” she said with a sniff, like we were in a restaurant, and I was the guest nobody wanted.

“Not really, given I was kidnapped and I’m being held here against my will.”

Mateo inspected the bottle of wine a server placed on the table and ignored my little outburst.

“Don’t be dramatic. I’m sure Mateo has treated you with the respect you deserve.” She turned away and waited for Mateo to pour her a glass of wine.

Was this woman for real?

I watched with disgust as his hand brushed hers. It was obvious they were more than business partners. If they’d known each other for years, did their relationship continue while Lily was married to Brax’s grandfather? Given Brax mentioned he’d died when his dad was a boy, I couldn’t help but wonder whether his death was accidental.

“Are you OK with this? Do you think it’s acceptable to have your grandson’s girlfriend kidnapped in broad daylight and shipped fuck knows where, not to mention threatened?”

Lily ignored me. To her, I was invisible. A speck of dirt on her shoe. I had a feeling that if I died at Mateo’s hands, she wouldn’t bat an eye. She sipped her - no doubt very expensive - wine and smiled at Mateo. “Have you persuaded your guest to reveal where the files are?”

I looked at the plate someone had placed in front of me. Fish. Usually I loved fish, but the thought of eating anything curdled my stomach. I wouldn’t put it past Mateo to poison me. Or at least make me so sick I’d agree to anything.

“Not yet,” Mateo replied. “But the clock is ticking.”

Tick tock.

Pretending I was clueless might work in the short-term, but not in the long term. Mateo was no idiot. He was clearly the head of some vast criminal organization, which led me to believe he was highly intelligent and very cunning, characteristics shared by Lily. I needed to be careful.

Then it occurred to me. If I revealed the fact there was a safe deposit box in my name, he would have no choice but to take me back to Cincinnati. Once there, maybe I could find a way to escape.

It was a shit plan, but the only one I had right now.

???

“Have you given some thought to what I said, Estella?” Mateo’s goon stood in the doorway, blocking my exit. My feet ached in the stupid shoes someone had chosen for me. I longed to kick them off, preferably in Mateo’s face. A stiletto embedded in his forehead would improve my mood considerably.

“I have,” I replied.

“And have you remembered anything helpful?”

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